On Friday the Study Group team filed in federal court for a preliminary injunction against further investment in the Chemistry and Metallurgy Research Replacement Nuclear Facility (CMRR-NF) and part of a related project, pending a full trial on the merits of our case.

This filing "ups the ante" in our litigation against the Department of Energy (DOE) and National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) to compel compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) regarding the CMRR-NF.

Trish is setting up a special web site so you can have easier access to the legal and factual submittals in the case. Up tomorrow.

In addition to lead attorney Thomas Hnasko of Hinkle, Hensley, Shanor & Martin, we are represented in this matter by attorneys Lindsay Lovejoy, Dulcinea Hanuschak, Diane Albert, and the expert paralegals at Hinkle. Thanks, all of you!

Supporting evidence was filed directly or indirectly from: Gilbert Sanchez, a former governor of San Ildefonso Pueblo; Walatowa (Jemez Pueblo) Governor Joshua Madalena; the City of Santa Fe (unanimous resolution calling for full new EIS); the Pajarito Group of the Sierra Club; Jody Benson of the Los Alamos School Board; Robert Peurifoy, formerly vice president and manager of nuclear weapons design at Sandia National Laboratories; myself; and in by far the largest volume, NNSA itself.

We are requesting a halt to investment not just in CMRR-NF but also in moving the TA-55 security perimeter to prepare for CMRR-NF excavation.

Meanwhile, according to interviews conducted with project managers by a trade publication, published yesterday, NNSA (reportedly) has suspended all (new) CMRR-NF procurements. This is welcome news, but we don't yet know how far or how deep it goes.

The third big news item I wanted to tell you about this weekend is that the White House has pledged another $4.1 billion over 5 years to the nuclear laboratories and plants. An additional $300 million per year is headed to Los Alamos, on top of the additional $338 million in nuclear weapons funding Los Alamos got on October 1. Over two years, the $638 million increase, if funded by Congress, would be a 49% increase from LANL's FY2010 nuclear weapons appropriation of $1.30 billion. Senior Administration spokespersons (Deputy Undersecretary of Defense Jim Miller and Strategic Command chief Gen. Kevin Chilton) traveled to Arizona to brief Senator Kyl, hoping that when the Senate convenes on Monday Kyl, the Minority Whip, will support ratification of the New START treaty. You will hear a lot more from us about this. We can beat this.

Finally, as you can see above, the City of Santa Fe has taken a stand on this matter. Thanks to all who worked on this! What local government will be next? Please help us with this.